TechStars Seattle: The Early Word on the Lucky Few

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shows the effects of the campaign in real time for those participating.

The founder is Adam Loving, a software developer with a long list of contract jobs for companies like BigDoor, Gist, and Vulcan.

—Maptia: This was one of the harder ones to pinpoint. Maptia’s tagline is that it’s making “The most inspirational map in the world.”

From what I can tell, the idea is for a Web application that travelers can use to load images and other personal remembrances of places around the world, making a map that’s more personal than the satellite-based electronic versions we typically use to navigate.

The team of four hails from around the world: The U.K., China, and Switzerland. They were most recently working on Maptia in Santiago, Chile, as part of a government-sponsored accelerator program called Start Up Chile.

—MobileDevHQ: MobileDevHQ helps mobile app developers get their creations found in app stores. As the number of apps grows, there’s an increasing frustration by many developers about the sometimes haphazard ways of getting their apps in front of users. MobileDevHQ says its software is akin to SEO services tailored for the mobile app world.

MobileDevHQ has a strong connection to the Seattle TechStars crew: Listed on LinkedIn as co-founder and chairman is Chris DeVore of Founder’s Co-op.

—Sandglaz: Sandglaz is another startup relocating to Seattle for TechStars’ three-month program, hailing from Toronto. The startup offers productivity software aimed at helping professionals manage their lives, with an emphasis on user interface that translates well to mobile devices.

—Tred: Tred wants to help consumers buy cars more easily with a Web-based application. Users select the kind of characteristics they’re looking for in a new ride, and Tred runs those variables by car dealers to find the best match.

The startup was previously working out of General Assembly in New York. CEO Grant Feek has a Harvard MBA and experience in the finance industry, along with some time working for BMW. CTO John Wehr has startup experience, previously working as CTO at a company called HiiDef.

Tred also has a big-name lead investor who knows a thing or two about the car business: Rick Wagoner, the former CEO of General Motors who was ousted by the federal government in the wake of the government bailout of the auto industry.

—Superbly: From Portland, OR, Superbly is building a software service that allows secure sharing, markup, and approval (including signatures) of legal documents. The startup has previous investment from the Portland Seed Fund, and two of its co-founders have worked with the Portland Incubator Experiment.

The founding team has a really interesting array of experience. Technical chief Ken Keiter previously worked at RedHat and Verb, a product design and engineering firm. CEO Eli Rubel has a background in art, specifically photography, along with some work in user experience and project management on the Web. Third co-founder Justin Thiele does a bit of everything, including product, programming, user experience, and marketing.